State Guide · Georgia
Georgia HOA Rental Compliance: What Associations Must Track
Georgia gives associations broad power to restrict leasing—but recent legislation attaches real record-keeping duties to that power. An association that can't produce the right records can lose grandfathering disputes, and starting in 2027, an unregistered association loses its power to fine or lien at all.
Last reviewed July 2026. General information, not legal advice—confirm current statutory text with your association's attorney.
The statutes that create tracking duties
Each of these laws requires your association to be able to prove something. That's a record-keeping obligation, whether or not anyone calls it that.
O.C.G.A. § 44-3-226 (as amended by SB 442, eff. Jan. 1, 2021)
Statutory lease grandfathering
When covenants are amended to restrict leasing, a home that is already being leased on the date the amendment is recorded may continue to be leased until the property is conveyed for value. The protection applies to property owners' associations but does not extend to condominiums.
What your association must track:
- A dated registry of exactly which lots were leased on the amendment's recordation date
- Ongoing conveyance monitoring—grandfathering ends at sale, and the association must know when that happens
- Documentation supporting each grandfathered status, in case it is ever challenged
SB 406 — Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights (signed May 2026; phased effective dates July 2026 – Jan. 2027)
Registration, records, and enforcement discipline
Georgia associations must register with the Secretary of State—an unregistered association forfeits its power to fine, lien, or foreclose. The act also imposes ten-year financial record retention, itemized attorney-fee disclosures, and new dispute procedures.
What your association must track:
- The association's registration status and renewal dates
- Ten years of financial records, retrievable on request
- Complete documentation behind every fine and lien—enforcement without records becomes indefensible under the new dispute process
POAA communities vs. common-law communities (O.C.G.A. § 44-5-60(d)(4))
Who is actually bound by your leasing rules
Communities under the Property Owners' Association Act can generally adopt leasing caps that bind all owners. In non-POAA communities, Georgia courts have held that owners who did not consent in writing to a new leasing restriction may not be bound by it.
What your association must track:
- Which legal regime your community is under—it changes what your amendments can do
- Per-owner consent records for leasing amendments in non-POAA communities
- Leasing permit and waitlist administration where caps apply, with consistent, dated records
The test: could your board produce this tomorrow?
If a dispute, an audit, or a new manager asked for the following, a compliant Georgia association should be able to hand it over without a scramble:
Watch this space
HB 62 (the "HOA Accountability and Community Empowerment Act") remains in committee and would add further oversight requirements. SB 406's main provisions take effect January 1, 2027—associations should be registered and their record-keeping in order before then.
Built for Georgia associations
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RentTrac360 tracks rental status, grandfathering, caps, and enforcement records continuously—onboard in about 15 minutes, and the platform keeps the file current from then on.
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